“One of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had at STEPS so far was working on the first Municipal Cultural Plan for the City of Stratford. The project encompassed everything I love about cultural planning. It was an honour to develop a strategy that supports the community’s dreams and desires and helps culture thrive in Stratford. I am excited to see how this plan is implemented in the coming years and how it will positively impact the city’s cultural landscape.

Looking ahead, I am particularly thrilled about our Accessible Art and Placemaking Project, which we will be developing throughout 2023. Our aim is to explore how art and creative placemaking can be used to increase the accessibility of public spaces. We are currently consulting experts in the d/Deaf and disability arts community, and it has been an incredible privilege to hear their insights and ideas about how art can make our cities more welcoming to people of all abilities. We will be presenting two installations over the summer months in downtown Toronto, and I can’t wait to collaborate with talented artists to help bring their vision to life and transform public spaces.”

“Oh, this is a tough one! Each project I’ve been able to support is close to my heart, but a few stand-outs would be: 

• The Mane Event, a series of community arts and hair workshops with D’Andra Montaque, culminated in Our Crowns, a permanent public art mural by Curtia Wright sharing the importance of hair in black identity and celebrating the sacrifices and achievements of Jamaican immigrants while highlighting the vital role salons and barbershops have played in shaping the cultural fabric of Little Jamaica. 
• From Weeds We Grow is a long-running running project rooted in North Etobicoke. This project has allowed me to explore my own connections to the land and commitment to  Indigenous reconciliation while offering community-led arts, movement, and capacity-building opportunities in natural urban spaces. 
• Crossroads with Kseniya Tsoy is a project I’m very focused on right now – rooted in North York’s Willowdale community, I have the pleasure of supporting Kseniya’s vision for a site-specific, community-engaged, legacy mural exploring the unique cultural tapestry of Willowdale as a meeting place of global perspectives and cultural lineages while honouring the Indigenous lands we gather on today.”

“There have been so many projects that I have enjoyed working on; it isn’t easy to choose my favourite. When I first joined STEPS, I had the pleasure of working with Wenting Li on her Hope in Chinatown Mural. I loved being on-site, painting and interacting with the community. This project will always have a soft spot in my heart since it was the first project I worked on. The second one is Moises Frank‘s Sharing Stories of Migration; this might have been one of the most challenging projects I have worked on, but I loved everything it taught me and enjoyed getting to know the BIA and artists. Overall, it is a beautiful mural that supported our Inspired Art Impact research project and won the Transformative award through I HeART Main Street! Each project at STEPS is unique and fun to work on; I am looking forward to what the summer has in store!”

A cultural plan provides an opportunity for jurisdictions to:

• Expand and enhance artistic and cultural opportunities for the arts/creative community and the broader community
• Strengthen, leverage, and integrate artistic and cultural resources across all facets of local and national government
• Advance broader objectives in the areas of economic prosperity, social equity, the environment, and cultural vitality

Community mapping is also a way for community members to outline issues or challenges, and identify ways in which these challenges or barriers can be responded to. This leads to facilitating the building of links between communities and institutions or municipalities while providing locally-driven transparent solution processes.